“Why do we keep making these mistakes? The press is gonna turn molehills into mountains, but can we please stop giving them so many molehills to work with?”
As you may recall, I have a book called Game Change on my current reading list. It documents some of the events that happened “behind the scenes” in the months leading up to the 2008 US Presidential election. More specifically, it takes a look at what was going on with John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton when they were vying for the spot of Democratic candidate.
Politics, particularly in the United States, can be incredibly cut-throat. The quote above comes by way of then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. The press were tearing her apart on a number of issues and she was getting fed up with it all. Even more so, though, she was getting fed up with her team and how they allowed that to happen.
Even so, there is a great lesson for all of us to learn here. You have to focus your energies on what you can control and ignore what you can’t control. If the press wasn’t continually fed nuggets that put Clinton in a negative light, they wouldn’t be able to make a mountain out of a molehill. Sure, one or two bad stories might make their way out anyway, but when you give them this much fodder, you are arming them with far too much ammunition.
“But I’m not in politics.”
Yes, that may be true in the strictest sense, but you also have to realize the impact that the rest of the world has on your life. The “molehills” that you project can be turned into mountains by your co-workers, friends, family, loved ones, customers, and just about anyone else in your life.
For some more words of wisdom from the current Secretary of State, check out Living History
I supported Mrs. Clinton during her run and feel that she should have won. When she supported Obama, I changed with her so that I was voting for who she thought was the right person. I still feel that she would have done the best job, especially with where we are now.
Her downfall? Not having the right people running her campaign. They didn’t have the daring that she does to say something or stop something.
I would have loved Clinton to have been in office. I wish she were there I think Obama isn’t all he was cracked up to be.